Journal lubricator



Feb. 12, 1963 E. s. PEARCE 3,077,366 JOURNAL HJBRICATOR Filed April 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 12, 1963 E. s. PEARCE JOURNAL LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 15, 1957 INVENTOR. AZM/V-j. P542;

United States Patent 3,tl77,366 EUURNAL LUERHQATGR Edwin S. Pearce, Indianapolis, Lid assiguor to Railway Service and Eupply Corporation, Indianapolis, End, a corporation of Indiana Flied Apr. 15, 1957, der. No. 652,986 9 Claims. (Cl. 308-88) This invention relates to lubricating devices, and more particularly to devices for lubricating journals of the kind used in railway cars. The invention is primarily concerned with a lubricating device of the general type shown in United States Patent No. 2,758,893 granted to 3. E. McLeod, wherein the rotating journal is engaged by a lubricating pad held in engagement with the journal by a spring-metal retainer.

it is an object of the invention to produce a lubricating device of the type described which will be applicable to the various sizes of journal boxes in general use on American railways and which will hold the pad in engagement with the journal under appropriate force irrespective of size differences among such journal boxes. Another object of the invention is to provide in a lubricating device of the type described a lubricating pad which will effectively feed oil to the journal from a supply in the lower portion of the journal box. Still another object of the invention is to provide a lubricating device which can readily be removed to permit renovation and/ or replacement of the lubricating pad.

Among the features which characterize my invention is the support of the lubricating pad through a springmetal member which extends chordally across the journal box below the journal and which is connected, through a lost-motion connection, with a retaining element of spring metal which extends circumferentially of the journal box and is positively located therein. Another feature of the invention is an improved lubricating pad comprising a sheet of coarsely woven fabric from one face of which there projects a multiplicity of long loops of thread or string. Such material is folded with an accordion fold the center plies of which are secured together and to the aforesaid spring-metal pad support. The end plies of the folded material hang downwardly on opposite sides of such support to dip into a pool of oil in the bottom of the journal box.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through a railway-car journal box which, except for the incorporation of my lubrieating means, is of generally standard construction;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmental isometric View illustrating a portion of a retainer and the associated means employed to locate it in the journal box;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through a journal box illustrating two pad retainers in place therein;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section through the pad and its spring-metal support, the section being taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

MG. 7 is a fragmental section on the line 77 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmental sectional view on an enlarged scale illustrating a preferred form of lubricating-pad material.

The conventional railway-car journal construction illustrated in FTGS. 1, 2, and 4 comprises a journal box 19 which receives a journal 11 on the end of an axle 12. Load is transmitted between the journal box 10 and the journal 11 through a shoe 13 of any desired construction. At its outer end the journal box ill has an opening 14 which provides for access to the lubricating device and for the replacement of lubricant.

In the arrangement illustrated in the drawing, the journal 11 is lubricated by two lubricating devices of similar construction. Each such lubricating device comprises a lubricating pad 16, a spring-metal pad-support 17 which extends chordally across the journal box below the journal 11, and a retainer 18 to which the support 17 is connected. Each of the retainers 18 is desirably formed of spring-metal and extends circumferentially around the bottom wall of the journal box. For the purpose of locating the retainers 18 in the journal box, I may employ a pair of locating devices 2%) which are secured, as by welding, to the inner surface of the journal box adjacent the ends of the retainers 18. As perhaps best shown in PEG. 3, each of the locating devices is conveniently formed of sheet-metal bent into an L-shape cross-section to provide a web 21 which lies against the inner surface of the journal box and a flange 22 which projects inwardly of the journal box. At its ends, each device 20 is provided with an abutment 23 conveniently formed by bending t .e ends of the web 21. Another portion of the web, indicated at 24, is bent from the plane of the web to extend parallel to and below the flange 22.

The locating devices 20 are so positioned in the journal box that the ends of the retainers 18 overlap the flanges 21 between the intermediate abutment 24 and the respective end abutments 23. By virtue of this arrangement, movement of either retainer circumferentially of the journal box is limited by engagement of its ends with the flanges 22, while movement of each retainer axially of the journal box is limited by the abutments 23 and 24. The developed length of the retainer 18 may be somewhat less than the distance between the flanges 22 measured along the inner surface of the journal-box wall, in order to accommodate for manufacturing inaccuracies and to facilitate installation of the device. The distance between the center abutment 24 and each of the end abutments 23 is desirably somewhat greater than the width of each retainer 18, so as to permit the lubricating devices to follow the jounal 11 when it moves axially in the journal box.

The pad support 17 associated with each retainer 18 is desirably formed of a strip of spring sheet-metal having its ends bent upwardly as indicated at 25 in FIGS. 2 and 7. To retain the pad-support 17 in association with the retainer 18, it is provided adjacent the bases of its upwardly curved ends 25 with slots 26 which receive tongues 27 struck up from the retainer 18. Desirably, the distance between the inner ends of the slots 26 is substantially greater than the distance between the tips of tongues 27, so that flexing of the pad support 17 will be necessary in passing the tongues through the slots. This arrangement lessens the likelihood that the pad-support will become disconnected from its associated retainer when the lubricating device is out of the journal box.

The lubricating pad which I prefer to use comprises a strip of coarsely woven fabric 30 (FIG. 8) having a width equal to the length of the desired lubricating pad measured circumferentially of the journal. Coarse thread or string is punched through the interstices of the strip 30 to form elongated, closely spaced loops 3i distributed over one face of the strip. After formation of the loops 31, the strip is folded with an accordion fold as indicated in FIG. 5. As there shown, the folding provides four intermediate plies or thicknesses 32 and two end plies 33, the plies 33 being substantially wider than the intermediate plies 32. To secure the pad in folded condition, wire staples or clips 34 are applied to its ends, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, such staples embracing all the plies of the pad and desirably being located near the folds at which the end plies join the adjacent intermediate plies. The pad thus folded and retained in folded condition is secured to the support 17 by staples 35 each having an intermediate portion, which passes transversely beneath the support 17, and hook-like end portions which are forced through theintermediate plies 32 of the pad. In assemblingithe pad and its support, it is convenient to do so with the pad inverted from the position shown in FIG. 5 so that the end plies 33 will hang downwardly and expose the intermediate plies which are to be secured to the support '17. After the staples 35 are applied, and the assembly restored to the position shown in FIG. 5, the end plies 33 hang downwardly on opposite sides of the support 17. When the support .17 is applied to the retainer '18 and the assembly installed in a journal box, the end plies "33 form skirts which extend downwardly to the'bottom'of the journal boxinto a pool oflubrican't provided therein and serve, through capillary attraction, 'to' feed such lubricant to that'portion of the pad which lies above the support 17 and engages the journal. The skirts formed by the end plies 33 also serve ,as baffles opposing surging and splashing of the lubricant in the bottom of the box.

The lubricating device as above described may be proportioned to fit and function in journal boxes of any of the sizes whichare more or less standard for .American railroads. Most "journals in use on American railways are of one or another of three diametersnamely, 5 inches, 5 inches, and 6'inches; and such journals are commonly used in journal boxes having approximate Widths of 8 inches, 8 /2 inches, and 9 inches, respectively. A retainer 18 having anoverall length of approximately 13 inches is suit-able for use in all such journal boxes. Conveniently, each retainer is formed of spring steel stock having a width of about 2% inches and a thickness of 0.032 inch and is bent on a radius of about 6 inches. This radius is substantially greater than the radius of curvature of the lower journal-box wall with the result that the retainer must be sprung when inserted in the journal box and confined between the locating devices 20 thus insuring substantial conformity of the retainer to the curvature of'the inner face of the journal box.

Each spring support 17 is conveniently formed of the same stock as the retainer. I have found it convenient to form each support of a strip of stock 9% inches in length, bending about 1% inches at each end of the strip upwardly on a radius of approximately 1 7 inches to form the portions 25. It is also desirable that the center portion of the strip, between the upwardly bent ends 25, be given an upward camber or arch of approximately inch.

I have found that with the retainer and pad support constructed as above described the distance between the surface of the journal 11 and the midpoint of the .padsupport 17 Will, in the absence of the pad, vary as little as A of an inch in the application of the device to the three standard sizes of journals and journal boxes referred to above. As aresult, the force with which the pad is pressed against the journal is substantially independent of the size of the particular journal box in which the device is used. The only accommodation necessary in installation of my lubricating device in any particular journal box involves the position of the locating devices 29, which will be located higher on journal box walls of smaller diameter than on boxes 'of larger diameter.

Reference has been made above to the desirability of so forming the tongues 27 of each retainer that the distance between their tips is less than the distance between the inner ends of the slots 26 in the support 17. In general, it is desirable that the length of the slots and the distance between them be such that the tongues 27 will not interfere W'ith'lfiexing of the support 17 and prevent it from functioning as a simple beam. As a result of this latter characteristic, the connection between the pad support 17 and the retainer 18 is a lost-motion one providing for the support and the pad attached to it a limited freedom of movement circumferentially of the journal; and, because of friction between the journal and the pad, the pad and pad support will not occupy the central position indicated in FIG. 2 when the journal 11 is rotating. For example, if the journal 11 is rotating in a clockwise direction, friction between it and the pad 16 will urge the pad and pad support to the left as shown in FIG. 2, and the pad and support will move to the left under such urging until the base of the opening 26 at the left-hand end of the support engages the lefthand tongue 27. Similarly, counterclockwise rotation of the journal will move the pad and pad support to the right until the 'base of the opening 26 at the right-hand end of support engages the right-hand tongue.

In addition to cooperating with the tongues 27 to limit movement of the support and pad, the slots .26 possess another function in that, by reducing the crosssection of the support they increase the flexibility of the support adjacent the bases of the curved ends 25. As a result, flexing of the pad is largely confined to its end portions.

I contemplate that the unit pressure of the pad 16 against the journal 11 will be relatively low, at least low enough that the inclination of the loops 31 relative to the pad-base 30 will change with changes in the direction of journal rotation. This effect, combined with the circumferential sliding of the pad and its support, causes the loops to present new surfaces in contact with the journal and prevents ironing or glazing of the contact surfaces of the pad, thereby insuring the maintenance of an adequate oil feed to the journal surface.

The material illustrated in FIG. 8 as the preferred material for use in forming the pad 16 was disclosed in my prior, and now abandoned, application Serial No. 381,798, filed September 23, 1953, of which this applica' tion is a continuation-in-part. The pad-base 30 may be of any appropriate fabric, but is preferably a medium weight cotton duck. The material of the loops 31 may be any loosely twisted, relatively coarse cord or string but I prefer to use a material known in the trade as yarn cotton 5 ply-4. The loops are desirably ap proximately two inches in length and distributed over the base 30 on inch centers. As discolsed in my prior application above referred to, a pad formed as just described is desirably laundered before being placed in use. Such laundering, by removing size from the material of the loops 31, increases the ability of the loops to feed oil. The laundering also, by its effect in shrinking the material of the loops, causes each loop to assume a twisted condition, as indicated in FIG. 8. Such twisting of the loops tends to preserve their individual identity, preventing the tangling of the loops into a matted mass in a manner which would interfere with the above mentioned loop movement when the direction ofrotation of the journal 11 changes.

I have found it desirable to confine the staples 35, which secure the pad and its support 17 together, to a region adjacent the center of the support, distributing them along the support only to the extent necessary to prevent objectionable swiveling of the pad about a vertical axis.

In installing my lubricating device in the journal boxes of a railway car, the car is jacked up to permit removal of the shoes 13 and is then lowered until the roofs of the journal boxes rest on the journals, thus increasing the gap between the bottom wall of each journal box and the end flange 11 of the journal. The retainer 18 of an assembled lubricating device is flexed to the extent necessary to permit the device to be inserted through the opening 14 and inserted below the flange 11' and past the outer and'interme diate abutments 23 and 24 of the locating devices 20, to bring the device into the position illustrated at the right in FIG. 1. Release of the flexing effort permits the ends of the retainer to move away from each other into the gap between the intermediate abutment .24 and the inner end abutment 23. The second lubricating device is inserted in similar fashion to bring the ends of its retainer 18 into the space between the intermediate abutment 24 and the outer end abutment 23. The ends of the retainers 18 are square so that their engagement with the flanges 22 of the locating devices will limit the extent to which each retainer can depart from a position in a plane perpendicular to the journal-axis. At the same time, as previously noted, the retainer is free to move axially of the journal between the limits imposed by the abutments 23 and 24.

I claim as my invention:

1. A journal-box lubricator, comprising a retainer in the form of an arcuately bent strip of spring stock having a pair of spaced tongues projecting generally toward each other from the concave side of the retainer, 21 support of spring stock extending chordally of said retainer and having spaced slots receiving said tongues, said slots being of such size and so spaced relatively to the spacing of the tongues as to permit limited movement of the support along the retainer while the tongues remain in the slots, said support having curved end portions tangent to the concave surface of the retainer, and a lubricating pad secured to said support.

2. A journal-box lubricator, comprising a retainer in the form of an arcuately bent strip of spring stock, a support of spring stock extending chordally of said retainer, means engaging said support near its ends for providing a limited freedom of movement of the support along the retainer, said support having curved end portions tangent to the concave surface of the retainer, and a lubricating pad secured to said support.

3. A journal-box lubricator, comprising a retainer in the form of an arcuately bent strip of spring stock, a support of spring stock extending chordally of said retainer, lost-motion means engageable with said support near its ends for providing a limited freedom of movement of the support along the retainer, and a lubricating pad secured to said support.

4. A journal-box lubricator, comprising a retainer in the form of an arcuately bent strip of spring stock, a support of spring stook extending chordally of said retainer, means limiting movement of the support along the retainer, said support having curved end portions tangent to the concave surface of the retainer, and a lubricating pad secured to said support.

5. In combination with a journal and journal box, said journal box having a curved bottom wall concave toward and spaced from the journal, a support of spring stock extending chordally of said curved bottom wall below the journal, a lubricating pad located between said journal and support and urged against the journal by the resilience of the support, said support being provided with upwardly curved end portions through which it is supported from said bottom wall, and means limiting movement of said support along the journal-box wall.

6. A journal lubricating pad, comprising a plurality of layers of a strip of fabric having a multiplicity of twisted size-free loops of coarse string or the like secured to the strip and located on the outside of the pad, said loops having internal stresses which maintain them inherently in twisted condition.

7. In combination with a journal and journal box, a lubricating pad comprising an extended strip of oil-absorbent material having a width equal at least to the diameter of the journal and being continuous throughout the extent of said width, said strip being folded accordion wise to provide a plurality of superposed plies including intermediate plies and end plies, adjacent ones of said plies being joined by folds which extend transversely of the strip and engage the journal, said folds extending circumferentially of the journal whereby the several plies will lie generally in planes normal to the journal axis, and means located under said intermediate plies resiliently holding the pad against the journal, said end plies being wider than said intermediate plies and hanging downwardly on opposite sides of said means.

8. In combination with a journal and journal box, a lubricating pad comprising an extended strip of oil-absorocnt material having a width equal at least to the diameter of the journal and being continuous throughout the extent of said width, said strip being folded accordionwise to provide a plurality of superposed plies adjacent ones of said plies being joined by folds which extend transversely of the strip and engage the journal, said folds extending circumferentially of the journal whereby the several plies will lie generally in planes normal to the journal axis, said oil-absorbent material comprising a frabric strip and a multiplicity of loose loops of coarse string or the like secured to said strip and located on one side of said fabric, those folds which are in engagement with the journal having said loops on the outside and in contact with the journal, and means resiliently holding the pad against the journal.

9. A journal lubricating pad, comprising a strip of fabric, said strip having a substantial Width and being continuous throughout the extent of said width, said strip having a multiplicity of loops of coarse string or the like secured to the strip and located on one side thereof, said strip being folded accordion-wise to form a plurality of plies including end plies and a plurality of intermediate plies, said end plies being wider than said intermediate plies and having their loop-covered faces on the outside of the pad, and means acting between said plies for securing said intermediate plies in superposed relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 91,000 Devlan June 8, 1869 446,049 Wood Feb. 10, 1891 488,402 Pugh Dec. 20, 1892 595,999 Harrison Dec. 21, 1897 1,720,445 Royal July 9, 1929 1,737,393 Sterling Nov. 29, 1929 1,787,156 Lawson Dec. 30, 1930 2,150,935 Miller Mar. 21, 1939 2,781,239 Potter Feb. 12, 1957 2,807,803 Rock-well Sept. 24, 1957 2,859,074 Dilg Nov. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,122 Great Britain 1905 206,924 Germany May 3, 1908 552,540 Germany June 15, 1932 935,589 Germany Nov. 24, 1955 

1. A JOURNAL-BOX LUBRICATOR, COMPRISING A RETAINER IN THE FORM OF AN ARCUATELY BENT STRIP OF SPRING STOCK HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED TONGUES PROJECTING GENERALLY TOWARD EACH OTHER FROM THE CONCAVE SIDE OF THE RETAINER, A SUPPORT OF SPRING STOCK EXTENDING CHORDALLY OF SAID RETAINER AND HAVING SPACED SLOTS RECEIVING SAID TONGUES, SAID SLOTS BEING OF SUCH SIZE AND SO SPACED RELATIVELY TO THE SPACING OF THE TONGUES AS TO PERMIT LIMITED MOVEMENT OF THE SUPPORT ALONG THE RETAINER WHILE THE TONGUES REMAIN IN THE SLOTS, SAID SUPPORT HAVING CURVED END PORTIONS TANGENT TO THE CONCAVE SURFACE OF THE RETAINER, AND A LUBRICATING PAD SECURED TO SAID SUPPORT. 